Greed
by Graphicsnerd
Summary: A deadly sin that consumes your soul, and suddenly all you want is to fulfill that desire for money and material. One-shot. Xigbar and Luxord meet someone consumed by their greed. K plus for mentioning alcohol and mentioning adult themes. No yaoi.


**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own anything from the Kingdom Hearts franchise or the lyrics and music of Patrick Stump, this story is simply for fun and not for commercial gain.

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><p><strong>Greed<strong>

"_Greed. One of the seven deadly sins, many will enter, few will win. Always try to notify the next of kin, 'cause many will enter, few will win"_

_-Patrick Stump_

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><p>"Look at all this loot!" Luxord exclaimed at the gleaming treasure trove before them.<p>

"Isle de Muerta, you sure have been good to us," Xigbar smirked while stepping further into the cavern. This place was something the two nobodies had stumbled upon while scouting through the Isle, Luxord had noticed a spark of light in the shadows; and, thinking it was one of those keyblade brats, they went in to investigate. But instead they found it to be a gold doubloon caught in the moonlight, and along with that, a cave full of all the treasure anyone could ever want.

If Xigbar still had his heart, he supposed he'd feel awe and excitement at the very sight of the monetary hoard of gems and gold. Instead, there was nothing, as always.

Xigbar sighed at the emptiness. He heard his white-haired counterpart sifting through the treasure behind him. He turned on his heel to face the man.

"This was what I used to live for, when I was a somebody," Luxord stated while caressing a gilded platter, it shined so clearly Xigbar could see Luxord's expression in the bright gold, "That's why I gambled…but it ate me away, and finally money wasn't enough. I had to gamble with my life, my very being."

Luxord averted his eyes from his reflection and dropped the platter onto the pile of treasure, it hit with a reverberating clang, silencing everything for a few moments. Xigbar was taken aback by Luxord's statement, he almost looked…guilty.

_Stupid, _Xigbar thought. He knew better than to let his pseudo-emotions run rampant. He had embraced who he had become and didn't want to look back; there was no point when you couldn't even feel the desire to be whole again.

Xigbar decided to break the tense air, "Well, I guess when I was a somebody I would have enjoyed finding a place like this, it'd pay the bills at least," Xigbar smirked at his own understatement then passed by Luxord, the dust of the cave floor crackling under his boots, and grabbed a gold crown from one of the piles, inspecting it in the moonlight.

"But I wouldn't say I was entrenched in greed," Xigbar continued while setting the crown on his head and reclining onto the treasure leisurely. He put his hands behind his head and smirked, pretending to be a king sitting on his throne.

Luxord grimaced and turned away from the cocky nobody, "You don't understand what greed can do to someone."

"It itches at the soul, it's a desire that can never be contented, it only grows until you're lost within it," A groggy voice spoke from the shadows in the cave.

Xigbar sprung to his feet and summoned his shooters, the crown clambering to the rock floor, Luxord stood behind him in an immediate defensive stance.

"Who are you? Who's there?" Xigbar called into the darkness. Suddenly a form was beginning to grow clearer to the nobodies, but still clung close to the shadows. Xigbar could make out it was a man dressed in pirate regalia; his giant hat swooped over his unkempt blonde hair and wrinkled face.

"Name's Barbossa," He grumbled sidestepping around Xigbar and Luxord in a wide circle, almost appearing to stalk them, "And maybe 'yer friend doesn't understand the consequences of greed, however, I can assure ye that I do."

Barbossa directed his weathered gaze at Luxord.

The white-haired nobody slightly shifted on his feet, "You do?"

"I do," Barbossa replied, still lurking around them, "You see that chest over there? That is the symbol of my greed, my chain to bear."

Luxord and Xigbar looked behind them and saw the chest Barbossa was talking about. Like the pirate said, there it was in the middle of the cave on a pedestal covered in gold trinkets.

"You see, that chest has a curse upon it, any that take the Aztec gold amulets from the chest are forsaken men. Forced to be neither living, nor dead. Of course, me and my crew thought it was all hogwash, another salty tale as old as the sea with no truth to it," Barbossa finally stopped just at the edges of a beam of moonlight, "So we took it. Every last piece and sold it for food, drink, and, huh, company..."

Barbossa's eyes were getting glassy the deeper he drew into his tale, like it was suddenly fresh in his mind. He trailed the perimeter of the moonlight, making sure to stay out of the light.

"But we started to notice that all those things would never satisfy our greed, and not simply mentally, physically too. Food turned to ash in our mouths, and drink would not quench our thirst, and no company could satisfy us," Barbossa continued in despair, "I've lived so long starving and my throat burning with thirst, but I haven't died, I can't."

Barbossa stopped his tale for a moment, by now the two nobodies had dropped their stances, entranced.

Barbossa shook his head as if to clear his mind and finished his story, "But the most gruesome punishment, was what happened to us at night. By day, we appear normal to anyone, but by night…"

Barbossa stuck out his arm into the moonlight, and suddenly it changed from a normal arm with flesh and blood, into a skeleton.

Xigbar stepped back, not truly scared but fakely in terror, he released a gasp, although he hadn't wanted to.

Barbossa smirked and stepped completely into the moonlight, transforming his whole body into simply bones.

"Then anyone can see who we really are," Barbossa added cryptically.

Luxord grabbed Xigbar's shoulder and began backing away, ready to leave the strange man alone, but Barbossa continued to speak.

"But I guess this is what greed does to you in your soul, only you can't see it. I believe the curse is a way to remind everyone that avarice is truly lethal, even though people pretend it isn't. It decays you on the inside, till' the only thing you want is for your desire to be fulfilled," Barbossa finished.

With that, Xigbar and Luxord had had enough; Xigbar summoned a corridor of darkness with which the nobodies escaped in, leaving the cursed man alone on the Isle de Muerta.

"But I'm sure you already knew that, nobody," Barbossa added into the cold dark place that he had learned to call home.

He had made his bed, now he had to lay in it.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed my one-shot. I'm not exactly sure what brought this on to be honest, I was listening to Greed by Patrick Stump and then I started writing this. That's why I included the lyrics of the chorus at the beginning, it inspired me so much. And plus I think it has some real truth to it as well, so I thought that would set it apart from other one-shots out there. I'm thinking about making a whole series of one shots for each of the seven deadly sins, depending on how this one goes. Any comments? I'd love to hear them, don't be shy, every review is treasured. Plus I'd like to hear feedback on whether to continue with another KH one-shot of a deadly sin, anyways thanks for reading! Until next time…

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><p>"<em>I've been poor and I've been rich. The first one stung, but the second one itched. Cash is just like a rash, without the pleasure of the scratch."<em>

_-Patrick Stump_


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